Student Research and Creative Activity in Theatre
and Film Theatre and Film, Johnny Carson School of
5-2019
Technical Direction of Mother Courage and Her
Children
Michael Strickland
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, mg_strickland@yahoo.com
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Strickland, Michael, "Technical Direction of Mother Courage and Her Children" (2019).Student Research and Creative Activity in Theatre and Film. 36.
Technical Direction of Mother Courage and Her Children by
Michael Garrett Strickland
A THESIS
Presented to the Faculty of
The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Fine Arts
Major: Theatre Arts
Under the Supervision of Professor Mitchell L. Critel
Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2019
Technical Direction of Mother Courage and Her Children
Michael Garrett Strickland, M.F.A. University of Nebraska, 2019
Advisor: Mitchell L. Critel
The Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, in conjunction with the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, produced Mother Courage and Her Children as the second show of the 2018-2019 season, directed by Andy Park in Howell Theater. I served as technical director for this production, whose task was engineering and the constructing the scenic design. My specific responsibilities included the budgeting of scene shop resources, creating and effectively communicating engineering drawings, outlining a clear objective-based schedule, overseeing the construction process, maintaining a safe working environment, installing and removing all scenery from the performance space, and training of back stage personnel for scenery transitions.
This thesis outlines the process of the technical director, from preproduction planning to strike. At the conclusion of this thesis, a series of appendices provide visual support to the written material.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 2: Preproduction 4
Chapter 3: Construction 12
Chapter 4: Technical Rehearsals 23
Chapter 5: Performances 27
Chapter 6: Strike 29
Chapter 7: Budget 31
Chapter 8: Conclusion 32
Appendix A: Designer Drafting & Model 36
Appendix B: Construction Drafting 46
Appendix C: Documentation 65
Appendix D: Construction Photographs 79
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, in association with the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, selected Mother Courage and Her Children as the second production of the 2018-2019 season. Rehearsals for Mother Courage began 8 October, 2018, with performances from 9 November, 2018 to 18 November, 2018. Production began much earlier, beginning with the appointment of the production staff at the conclusion of the Spring 2018 semester, and the design and planning process occurring during the summer. The remainder of the production team included Andy Park (director), Brenda Davis (scenic designer), Bryce Bassett (lighting designer), Heather Striebel (costume designer), Araceli Ramirez (sound designer), and Marty Wolff (properties master).
Mother Courage and Her Children was written by Bertolt Brecht in 1939. Written as an allegorical political response to the Nazi invasion of Poland, Brecht originally set the play’s action during the Thirty Years’ War. For this production, however, director Andy Park required an English translation of the script which he could adapt and set during the American Civil War. As luck would have it, the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film’s own Dr. William Grange, who specializes in German theatre, had previously translated the script. In Grange’s translation, and Park’s adaptation, Mother Courage follows the eponymous character as she attempts to survive, and profit from, the chaos and depravity of war. Peddling wares from her wagon, Mother Courage travels the countryside from North to South, owing no allegiance to either side of the conflict, only to almighty dollar. Her greed and self-preservation inadvertently led to the deaths of her three children, leaving her with virtually nothing at the end of the war and the play’s
conclusion. Due in large part to her selfish character traits, Mother Courage is a dynamic literary example of a tragic anti-hero, more apt to be pitied by the audience than revered. Parks adaptation also relied heavily on the incorporation of music, including both period pieces and original songs.
The intended purpose of this thesis is to delineate the process which the technical director undertook to advance a scenic design from concept to reality. To those
unfamiliar with “behind the scenes” theatrical production, I have often described the technical director’s purpose as twofold: to organize the various technical aspects of a production into one cohesive unit, and to interpret the designer’s vision in such a way as to make the impossible possible and the theoretical physical. This layman’s explanation, while grossly oversimplified, goes to the heart of what the technical director does. Utilizing the designer’s drawings and research, the technical director maintains the artistic vision of the scenic designer from planning to reality by producing engineering drawings and accurately budgeting the finances, time, and labor of the scene shop. The technical director must also collaborate and schedule with the other production
departments to ensure a smooth transition from planning to performance in a shared space. Finally, the technical director must ensure the safety of the carpenters and staff of the scene shop throughout the build process, as well as the actors and stage personnel during performance on the set.
Mother Courage had an initial scenic budget of $4,500.00 to cover all scenic elements and paint. The build period officially started on 1 October, 2018, with a total build time of four weeks. A three day load-in began on 23 October, 2018, followed by technical rehearsals beginning on 2 November, 2018. The production was staged in the
Temple Building’s Howell Theatre, and was comprised of a series of vignette style scenes. Major components included a false proscenium which allowed for the projection of supertitle scene synopses, various large flying units, a small farmhouse which rolled on from offstage, various upstage tracking units, a permanent hill element in forced perspective upstage, and Mother Courage’s wagon which appeared in nearly every scene and had to be mobile.
Chapter 2: Preproduction
My assignment as technical director came during the Spring 2018 semester, while I was working on another show, Lord of the Flies. At my first design meeting on 13 April, scenic designer Brenda Davis had already completed most of her design work following previous meetings with the other designers and director Andy Park. At that meeting, I saw a white model she had created and acquired a solid understanding of the direction she wanted to take. At that time, of particular note to me was the stage deck, which Davis wished to resemble trodden dirt or finely packed grass. Knowing that the solution for this would constitute a large portion of my budget, I began my research there, looking for inexpensive ways to replicate grass on stage and for other solutions which other productions may have used on stage in the past. By the next meeting on 1 May, I had a few options in mind. At that meeting, I was able to view a more complete model, as well as a series of photos Davis had taken showing the individual scenes. Seeing the scenes in chronological order gave me a much clearer understanding of what the wagon in the production needed to be capable of, both in function and movement. Having previously read the script, I had a firm understanding of the importance of the wagon in the story. I now knew the full breadth of that importance to our production and it became clear that the wagon would be the design’s focal point and therefore required extra care and attention on my part. At the 1 May meeting, Davis had also begun preliminary drawings, and requested a private meeting with me on 4 May to go over information she wanted to convey before the summer break. I had summer employment in New York and direct contact for those months would be problematic. At that 4 May meeting we clarified
a few minor questions I had about her design and the information in her drawings, and we spent some time discussing the building techniques I was considering; a discussion of the stage deck led Davis to mention that a previous colleague had once achieved the look she desired using distressed carpet, and that she would contact him for more information. She did, and forwarded that email to me soon after the meeting. It became clear to me then, having seen the effects of this solution, this distressed carpet method was her solution of choice. Other solutions I had been able to find up to that point were either impractical on the scale we needed or too expensive, so I decided to proceed according to her wishes knowing it would come closest to the look she desired. Following our meeting on 4 May, I began preparing for my trip to New York, with assurances from Davis of a designer’s packet forthcoming.
When she was named scenic designer for Mother Courage, Brenda Davis was also a lecturer for the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, teaching hand drafting and rendering. As a result, I was familiar with some of her past production work, and knew that her drawings were beautiful and highly detailed. I also knew, however, that work with her as a designer would present a somewhat unique challenge: Davis drafts only by hand. As all of my engineering needed to be done in AutoCAD, and the lighting designer’s needed to be done in VectorWorks, I knew that her drawings required digital transfer for us to proceed. That task, it turns out, would fall to me. Before leaving for summer break, I was informed by my advisor, Mitchell Critel, that my first task would be to translate Davis’ hand drafting into AutoCAD. I received the first set of drawings on 30 May. Missing from that packet were the farmhouse and wagon, but I began my work with the full stage section and ground plan because I knew these would be of the most concern
to the lighting designer. My schedule over the summer meant trying to sneak in drafting time for this production whenever possible, and I was able to complete and send off the ground plan on 13 June, and the section on 26 June. I then concentrated on completing the detail drawings for the various scenic pieces, which I completed and sent off on 20 August. During the time between my submission of the section and the completed packet, I received the last of Davis’ drafting. These drawings, of the wagon and farmhouse, were done in VectorWorks, and therefore not included in my final packet since we could easily convert them to AutoCAD.
The goal when converting the designer’s hand drafting into a digital format was to preserve as much of the artistic quality as possible. Attaining this goal meant finding tools within AutoCAD which would allow me to replicate as closely as possible the line types and weights of the original product. I began the process by importing scans of Davis’ drafting into AutoCAD. These scans, which she provided, were not perfectly oriented in the scanner when made, so after importing the files, I needed to find a reference line within each drawing I could use to align the scans with the coordinate system in AutoCAD. By drawing a straight line in the user interface, and aligning the drawing’s reference line to it, I could slightly rotate each scan to a usable position. Once positioned, I drew over the top of the scans to preserve Davis’ layout and positioning. Using her specified dimensions, I could draw each object to its correct size, and then adjust my drawing as needed. Once completed, the only task remaining was deleting the original scan; I was left with a perfect recreation of the original drafting, in a digital format I could more easily manipulate and use.
With the designer drafting conversions completed, I was free to begin engineering the scenic elements. Though the fall semester began on 20 August, my summer contract kept me in New York until 29 August. I began the engineering process during those nine days, utilizing any free time I had while closing the summer season. For this reason, I began engineering the simplest objects first, to have as much prepared upon my return as possible. The first element completed was the portal, a simple arched wall to be hung just upstage of the architectural proscenium on the first line set. The element was so large that it needed dissection into four parts, but was otherwise engineered using standard
Hollywood flat techniques. Rigging points were also included in the original engineering, and the framing members positioned accordingly to accommodate the wire rope and shackle plates required. The plan for flying the unit was to lift the header on the line set and then place the legs beneath it once it was in the air, at which point the legs would take the weight of the header, and the rigging would serve as support for the weight at the top of the unit. I next engineered the church and parsonage, both relatively simple flats hung from line sets twelve and seven respectively. The parsonage, the less complex of the two, was nothing more than a large Hollywood style flat. I framed it accordingly,
intending to cover the face with extruded polystyrene which could be carved to resemble the stone the designer had drafted. A single window was set in it, which would require small mullions and a pane of acrylic sheet. The church also contained windows with acrylic inserts, but the design called for a false rear wall which would be offset in a forced perspective. Maintaining the false perspective required framing the unit as two Hollywood flats, with the rear cantilevered off of the first. With these units completed, I had to take a few days to relocate back to Nebraska following the end of my summer
contract, returning to campus on 4 September. The following day, a meeting was
scheduled to discuss the various scene transitions for the production. By this point, Davis had prepared a number of photos using her model of the various scenes and posted them to the production file folder. During this meeting, I made particular note of the movement of the wagon and the upstage cut-outs, which would slide in tracks built between the two sections of the hill. I knew that these would create the largest pinch point during
transitions, as cut-out units needed to be removed and added to the tracks for nearly every scene. Given their size, and the available space backstage, I began to make a plan for the number of stage hands I would require to move them, in addition to the other tasks which would need attention during the show. The movement of the wagon made one thing abundantly clear: the wagon needed to turn in a tight radius within very confined spaces, and such turns would necessitate as little effort from actors and crew as possible. Davis had in some part anticipated this, and had designed the size of the wagon’s front wheels accordingly. They had been reduced early in the design process to allow the wheels to pass beneath the wagon itself, increasing its turn radius.
Knowing the exact movement of the wagon, I was able to proceed with
engineering the unit, and I began my own research into the mechanics of period wagons. Davis had offered a visual aesthetic for the exterior of the wagon, but she admitted little knowledge of how the wagon would physically function. She entrusted me to engineer it in such a way that the final look of the undercarriage would be in keeping with the aesthetic she had established for the rest of the wagon. Using her research images, and compiling some of my own, I was able to establish the appearance of the undercarriage. However, the images did little to explain the exact mechanics of period wagons. I found
some research specifically on the topic of building wagons, but what truly opened the door for me was a kit I ordered online to construct a scale model of a Conestoga wagon. The kit went into great detail on the parts of the axle and undercarriage, with emphasis on the central kingpin and the wagon tongue as the method for turning the wagon.
Immediately following my return to campus, I set up a meeting with the assistant technical director, Dylan Spilinek. An undergraduate in his second year with the
department, Spilinek had proven himself reliable and hardworking, though lacking in some of the engineering and drafting aspects of technical direction. My hope was to give him the opportunity to gain some experience in these areas by entrusting him with one of the scenic elements of the show. I chose to give him the two sets of trees, which were to fly in on line sets nine and ten at various points in the show. I already had a general idea of how I wanted to construct them, using a wooden frame with poultry wire stretched across it and a papier-mâché application, to reduce the weight of the unit. I also assigned him with drafting the frame for the tent, a two dimensional unit flown in on line set four, which was simply a 1” box steel frame covered in canvas. I left the engineering of the frames to Spilinek, with instructions that I needed the drafting completed by 14
September. At the same time, I discussed with him the drafting I had already completed, as well as my plans for additional units to be engineered.
I next began work on the engineering of the two hill sections. Placed upstage, the hills were relatively small to create a sense of forced perspective. One small section of the hill also needed to be able to hold an actor for one of the final scenes of the show. I opted to construct the hills in a similar fashion to the trees, creating a series of stud walls to act as a frame, each with varying heights to correspond to the heights in the drafting,
and the rolling nature of the hills. These walls were then attached together with spacers, wrapped in poultry wire, and covered in papier-mâché. Next, I estimated the material needed to complete the wagon and cut-out pieces, which I knew would require some trial and error in construction, and began finalizing the first round of material and time
budgets. The final components engineered were the farmhouse and wagon carriage, which were the most complex and therefore drafted in 3D in AutoCAD for a greater understanding of the interaction of their parts.
I began creating the first budget on 24 August, adding each scenic unit as it was engineered. It quickly became apparent that the costs for the carpet the designer requested for the deck, along with costs for the components and materials of the wagon, would take us substantially over budget. At the completion of the first budget, that amount came to $1,330.02. I presented this information to Davis on 11 September, with suggestions to reduce the cost by removing the back of the church and by replacing the sides of the portal with curtains. I also presented concerns about the cost of carpet, which at that point stood at $537.00, a significant portion of the budget to be spent on the floor. At the production meeting on 14 September, Davis informed me that we would go forward with replacing portions of the portal with curtains, and to my surprise announced that she and director Andy Park had decided to cut the church completely. This eliminated $764.35 from the budget. At that meeting, it was also agreed that props would give $300.00 of its budget to set, at that time believing that the props for the production would not need its entire budget. These changes brought the budget to within $300.00 of the target. With $480.00 set aside as contingency, we believed ourselves close enough to proceed with the build process. I knew, however, that I needed to find additional opportunities to reduce
costs without sacrificing necessary contingencies. The need for such contingency funds would become apparent on 30 September, just before the build period began, when decided that music stands would be added downstage for the various musicians in the show, who doubled as characters in the production. The additional cost of these music stands would need to come from our already strapped budget, so I made the decision to build the wagon wheels in house, rather than order them from a wagon manufacturer. I had been reluctant to do so, being unsure of the weight capacity of wheels made from plywood, but decided the additional $300.00 it created in the budget was necessary. With the budget squared away, I proceeded with creating my first purchase order for the shop, and began finalizing engineering and creating construction drawings for the scene shop.
Chapter 3: Construction
The build process for Mother Courage officially began on 1 October, 2018, however the load-in and notes process for the previous show, An Act of God, was completed with enough time that we were able to collect our first material order on 24 September and start producing scenery during the week previous. This additional week simply meant that I and possibly one other person could work on Mother Courage while the other carpenters completed the finishing tasks on the other show, so much of that week was spent preparing material for build. The week during and immediately after a show opens is inherently a slow period for production in the JCSTF scene shop, and one must factor this lassitude into the time management for a build. Therefore, any extra time gained, even if completing only minor tasks, is invaluable. When creating the build schedule, I opted to begin with the hill and the trees for two reasons: both of these scenic elements required a papier-mâché coating, and both were relatively simple in their construction. I knew, having used the technique before, that papier-mâché can be an extremely time-consuming endeavor, so by front-loading the project I could buy more time for that process. I also believe it best to begin a build process with elements that can be easily finished. Finishing a project creates a sense of completion right from the start, and instills confidence that drives the rest of the build forward. I spent the first half of the week before 1 October splitting 2x4 lumber to be used for the frames of these two
elements. By the end of the week, when more carpenters were available for the Mother Courage build, I had undergraduate technical direction students Colin Falk, Karen Husband, and Liam Romano complete the assembly of the downstage hill frames.
Assistant technical director Dylan Spilinek, also an undergraduate technical direction student, spent the week optimizing his drafting for the tree frames and creating the frames for the portal.
When the build process began on 1 October, with the hill frames already completed, I first assigned Husband and Falk with attaching the poultry netting which would form the mold for the papier-mâché. Believing this process would not take long, I also assigned them the papier-mâché application; I underestimated, however, the amount of time needed to apply the netting, so this process did not begin until a few days later. I also anticipated having a few more student hands to assist in the process, which did not happen. Each semester in the JCSTF, undergraduates from various entry level courses are required to complete a number of production lab hours as part of their final grade. While we do our best to organize these students in an attempt to anticipate our workforce, they are not bound to specific times. The result can sometimes be no additional workers in the shop one day, and twenty the next. This inconsistency is especially true during the week following the opening of a show, and it is a contributing factor to the slow down
mentioned earlier. Spilinek, having completed his drafting of the trees, began the process of creating the frames with Romano. With An Act of God completed, graduate technical direction candidates Daniel d’Egnuff and Austin Elledge were free to begin work on Mother Courage as well. After completing the engineering for the wagon, I decided to use the department’s computer numerically controlled router, or CNC, to cut out the various pieces of the undercarriage. These parts were all assembled from layers of 3/4” plywood, and I wanted to avoid spending valuable time cutting all of those pieces by hand and then sanding them smooth. Daniel d’Egnuff had the most experience
programming and running the CNC, and my attention needed in the scene shop, so I asked him to complete these pieces on 1 October. I paired Elledge with the scenic charge, Emma Hoffbauer, to begin work on the facing for the parsonage. The original plan had been to carve this facing from expanded polystyrene sheets, a common process for creating faux stone surfaces. At the suggestion of my advisor, Mitchell Critel, I changed the material to Homasote, a cellulous based fiber board often used for sound dampening insulation. Homasote is comprised of paper-like fibers, loosly pressed into 4x8 sheets. This makes the material easy to break down, and with little effort it can be textured to resemble stone. Importantly, it is also far less toxic to work with than is expanded polystyrene. Having never used Homasote before, I decided it would be a good opportunity to familiarize myself with a new material. Elledge and Hoffbauer began carving into the sheets to create the desired stone pattern on 1 October, using a wire brush disc on an angle grinder and various rasps and files. It quickly became apparent that while the material was easy to work with, the texturing process created an extraordinary amount of paper dust, so a portion of the shop had to be sealed off to prevent spreading the dust into the other projects taking place at the time, or out onto stage. This
undertaking delayed the process enough that the sheets were not completed on day one as I had hoped. We spent 2 October continuing projects from day one. Elledge and
Hoffbauer were again unable to finish carving the Homasote sheets for the parsonage, this time due to the grinder discs breaking. The process had to be halted for the day, which had the unintended consequence of delaying the wagon body. The metal for the wagon had been scheduled for that day, but the station we had set up for carving Homasote was blocking the entrance to the metal shop. I therefore moved Elledge and
d’Egnuff to completing the framing for the portal and attaching the facing so that we could send our first scenic elements to paint. Husband was able to begin the papier-mâché process on the downstage sections of the hill thanks to the arrival of a few lab students, while Spilinek and Romano continued framing the tree units. Part of the tree process had to be reevaluated when we discovered that one of the two units had been drafted too narrow. To streamline the process, I directed Spilinek to standardize the size of his framing pieces. This standardization would not affect the finished appearance of the trees, but would limit the variation in the frames, which hastened the entire build of the trees. At this time, I began assembling the various pieces of the wagon. Admittedly, I was hesitant to pass the wagon project on to anyone else. This was not a practical
decision, since a technical director should be able to present any aspect of the build to a carpenter in an efficient and clear manner, so that the technical director can focus on the bigger scope of the shop while the individual elements are completed. I was, however, apprehensive about my ability to do so with the wagon. Questions remained in my head about the stability and functionality of the wagon, largely due to inexperience with scenic pieces of that nature. I had therefore resolved to taking on the wagon as a personal
project, if for no other reason than to have the ability to troubleshoot it as I went. The first opportunity for troubleshooting came during the first week, when I discovered that the hole in the wheel pieces, which were cut on the CNC, was too small to pass the metal axle through. I had also not considered the need to cut holes in the axle mount to pass the axle through when I constructed those pieces, and I had accidentally placed screws directly in the path the axle needed to take. Much of my time during the first week I spent resolving these problems. By the conclusion of the first week, the downstage sections of
the hill were completed and sent to the scenic charge for texture and paint. The Homasote parsonage facing was completed and sent to paint, the wagon pieces and upstage cut-outs were cut on the CNC, the tree units were framed and the poultry netting and papier-mâché process begun, the metal for the wagon box was cut and welded with the plywood floor in place, and the four sections of the portal were assembled and sent to paint.
The focus for the second week of build, beginning 8 October, was completion of projects we began in week one. Many of these projects were delayed due to unforeseen circumstances and a lack of labor, but we had accomplished enough of a head start the week previous, allowing us to remain technically on schedule. Work began that Monday on the upstage sections of hill, which required less time to construct due to their greatly reduced size compared with the downstage sections. Work continued on the tree units, which needed their papier-mâché application and rigging installed. Having completed their tasks from week one, I asked d’Egnuff and Elledge to begin work on the farmhouse. The farmhouse consisted of a series of walls set on a platform, with a slanted roof. The unit needed to roll on from behind the stage left proscenium wall, meaning it would block the passage of actors when in its offstage position. For this reason, passageways needed to be incorporated in all four walls. The roof itself, being slanted, required rafters with various compound angles that made construction somewhat difficult. I felt this difficulty necessitated assigning the two most experienced carpenters to the task, so I added the farmhouse to the schedule the moment I knew they were available. Work on the wagon stalled a bit in the second week, but I was able to fit the completed wagon box to the axles for an initial test of the wagon’s capabilities. I was concerned initially about the weight capacity of the plywood wheels, since a lot of the material was removed to create
the appearance of spokes. These concerns were unfounded, and we were able to hold four individuals in the wagon at once, far more than the number of actors who would inhabit the wagon at any one time, without excessive strain on the wheels. Most of my time during the second week was spent checking in on the various jobs being performed, troubleshooting concerns with the construction of the farmhouse, and working with the scenic charge on the application of texture to the hill and trees. I had decided during the planning phase that a product known as Jaxsan was the best option for creating the various textures needed. Designed as a roof coating, Jaxsan can be brushed on to a surface and results in a rubberized, paint ready surface. Jaxsan is rather expensive, however, so I limited our usage to ten gallons, and I needed to work with Hoffbauer on ways to conserve the material. The initial plan was to use Jaxsan to texture the hill
sections, the tree units, and the flooring material. This meant premixing a base paint color into the material, as well as joint compound to thicken and extend the Jaxsan.
Unfortunately, this process resulted in a thinning of the material, so most of our time was spent discovering ways to achieve the desired textures. Together we created a number of samples, and by the end of week two had the approval of the designer to move forward.
During week three of the build we focused on completing the major scenic units of the show, in an effort to devote week four to the wagon and cut-outs, which I
anticipated to be the elements most in need of troubleshooting. The tent frame was cut and welded at the beginning of the week, and I asked Elledge to sew and attach the canvas covering. The framing and window elements of the parsonage we completed, and with the Homasote back from paint we were able to assemble the unit and attaching its rigging. The trees were completed and their rigging attached. During the papier-mâché
process and subsequent attempts to texture the trees, we determined that something more substantial than papier-mâché was needed. The trees, when moved, flexed so much that the coating ripped apart. This dilemma was unanticipated, but I quickly decided to purchase two bolts of muslin to cover the trees, thus providing a surface that would flex slightly as the trees were moved. This was applied with a water and glue mixture to stiffen it, and the Jaxsan texture applied over it. The major project for the week of 15 October, a short week due to Fall Break, was the completion of the farmhouse. While designer Davis had supplied a number of research images regarding her design of the farmhouse, her drafting contained no specific details. The scene shop, therefore, was given some artistic liberty in completing the scenic unit. Davis’ research images depicted a log style cabin, so I purchased log siding to replicate the appearance of true logs. Log siding, however, is very smooth and uniform, not at all the disheveled and aged
appearance we desired. We began to distress the log siding with chisels and claw hammers, anything to split the surface of the wood. This process continued until we got Davis’ approval to move forward. When the time came to attach the siding, we
intentionally set the panels crooked, with some of the broken pieces of siding placed between panels to break up the straight lines. Finally, we applied a mixture of joint compound, paint, and Jaxsan between the panels to act as mortar. The finished product appeared well distressed and aged, and I sent it to paint following the designer’s
approval. I spent Monday and Tuesday of that week working on completing the steps and yoke of the wagon, and beginning the assembly of the cut-outs and their rolling bases. Rigid casters were placed below each cut-out, with the intent of trapping them, held upright by the downstage and upstage sections of the hill. An additional short wall,
hidden from the view of the audience, was placed upstage of the last hill sections to create the second track. Once assembled, all we required was a method for pushing them on and off stage without the operators being seen. The carpet used to create the desired gravel appearance of the stage arrived at the end of the week, sourced from a local
company who was kind enough to offer us a discount. This gesture on their part helped us to stay within budget at that stage of the build. By that time, numerous unforeseen
purchases had been required, and few contingency funds remained when the budget was finalized in September. We selected two types of carpet, one with short fibers and one with long. The idea was to place the longer carpet downstage, and create a greater sense of perspective by having the carpet grow shorter as it moved upstage. The edges of the carpet were to be cut in random patterns, to hide the seams in the carpet and create a more natural look.
Week four began on 22 Oct and focused on preparing the various scenic units for hanging. During a production meeting on 12 October, I had negotiated with the lighting department to allow us to hang the flying units before the scheduled load-in date. My hope was that by having the units already in the air, we could avoid damaging lighting instruments during our load-in, and we could assist the lighting department with their hang and focus by having the units they needed to light already in the space. Bryce Bassett, the lighting designer, and lighting shop supervisor Kathleen Turner both agreed, so we made plans to hang all flying units on 26 October, two days before light hang. The majority of the labor in the scene shop during week four was dedicated to preparing the carpet. To simulate a natural, gravel texture, the carpet needed to be distressed, and while we tested a number of different methods, we discovered no easy method to accomplish
this task. Nearly all hands in the shop spent three full days slashing at carpet with utility knives and grinders in a vain attempt to break the fibers. We ultimately decided,
following a meeting with the scenic designer and the scenic charge, that the shorter of the two carpets would be left alone, to be textured later using a combination of Jaxsan and paint. The longer of the two carpets was easier to distress, so that process continued. As an added bonus, distressing the longer carpet created a significant amount of loose material. That material was collected, to be mixed in to the Jaxsan and paint to create a better texture on the short carpet. Once the sections of carpet were textured and cut to size, we had to remove them from the space for light hang. On 26 October, the parsonage, two tree units, tent, and portal were all hung in the space. Work on the wagon during week four largely consisted of troubleshooting the yoke and tongue. A metal tongue was welded and bolted to the front axle housing, but it was quickly discovered that the weight of the tongue caused the axle housing to roll forward. It was obvious that while there was no immediate danger, the axle would eventually break if left unchanged, especially if an actor should accidentally step on the tongue when entering or exiting the wagon, which was likely due to its position on the wagon. I consulted with the other graduate students and Critel, and the consensus favored a metal rod installed through the front seat of the wagon, the front axle housing, and finally through the bearings used as the pivot point for the front set of wheels. The rod would trap the axle in its upright position, preventing it from tilting forward under the weight of the tongue. While this solution strengthened the front axle considerably, it did not succeed completely in preventing the axle from
bending. We determined, however, that the wagon was now safe provided that no one step on the tongue.
Load-in for Mother Courage officially began on 29 October, though with the flying units already installed in the space, the majority of load-in was complete. We spent Monday touching up the remaining scenic units and installing the sacrificial lauan
flooring to which the carpet would be attached. I wished to avoid damaging the stage floor should the Jaxsan mixture used to texture the carpet seep through, which
necessitated the lauan underlayment. The cyc and scrim were also dropped into position on that day. The cyc was brand new, having just been purchased the previous summer. To remove the wrinkles caused by sitting in its shipping container for months, we had hung it during the previous week and weighted it with a curtain pipe. This procedure, however, proved ineffective in removing the most of the wrinkles. When dropped into position, we began by securing the pipe to the stage deck with plumber’s strap and flying the line set out slightly. While this helped to remove many of the wrinkles in the center of the cyc, the edges and upper section remained unchanged. Due to the layout of Howell, with the wagon house on stage left and a large door to the studio theater on stage right, and the need to have actors and crew cross through those wings, finding locations to stretch the cyc was a challenge. Ultimately, we created pick points by attaching pipe clamps to the architecture of the space, and then tying curtain clamps made from ¾” medium density fiberboard and ¼” bolts to them. This procedure removed more of the wrinkles, but additional work was needed to achieve as smooth of a surface as possible. As a last resort, I asked Husband, Elledge, and d’Egnuff to steam the cyc from a scissor lift, using a clothing steamer borrowed from the costume department. In particularly troublesome spots, we used a water sprayer to dampen the cyc material first. The process was
extremely slow, requiring three days to complete, but was successful enough to meet the approval of the scenic and lighting designers.
By the final day of load-in on 31 October, the hill and carpet had been installed to give the scenic charge time to texture the carpet, which could only be done once the carpet was installed. The scene shop then focused on completing the tracks within the hill sections and the various external elements of the wagon, including the canopy and
various attachments. During this week work began on the music stands as well, which were quickly completed and sent to paint. On 1 November and 2 November, the lighting and sound departments had the space largely to themselves, so we extended our efforts to complete the wagon and farmhouse, which were moved to the scene shop. It was at that time, thanks to a suggestion from Critel, that I decided to utilize a pair of stage braces to move the cut-outs on and off stage. By placing a coat hook at the base of each cut-out, the stage braces could be slotted on and then their length adjusted to push the units out. The solution was both simple and did not require the purchase of additional materials, making it ideal. On 2 November, I programmed the Vortek automated line sets in preparation for the first technical rehearsal and we made one final adjustment to the farmhouse. Once textured, it was determined that the carpet was too uneven and coarse to allow the farmhouse to roll over it smoothly. With the approval of designer Davis, we placed blocks beneath the casters and the entire unit lifted. This approach reduced friction with the carpet and resolved the problem.
Chapter 4: Technical Rehearsals
Technical rehearsals for Mother Courage began on 2 November, with a spacing rehearsal on 1 November. From my perspective as the technical director, I consider the spacing rehearsal to be truly the first day of tech, as it is the first opportunity for the actors to move around the space and the scenery. With insight into how each unit is constructed, the carpenters and I know how to handle and interact with the scenery to avoid damaging it. Without that insight, actors are often able to quickly find defects that need to be addressed. Because the spacing rehearsal is the first chance for the actors to interact with the set, I also view that day as the cut-off for any scenery with which they have direct contact. We were able to meet that goal with Mother Courage, despite having a few more adjustments to make to some pieces of scenery manipulated by the stage crew. The remainder of the technical rehearsals did not go as smoothly as hoped, however. I began the process by training the fly operator and stage crew in their various tasks. With flying scenery located on both the downstage hand line sets and the upstage automated line sets, the fly operator needed to move from the fly rail to the Vortek console throughout the show. This meant navigating between pieces of scenery and numerous actors, which inevitably disrupted the flow of actors on and off stage. The stage crew, who needed to move the cut-outs in and out of the two upstage tracks, also needed to deal with the flow of actors as they were positioned right at the stage left exit. As an added challenge, the stage braces needed to position the cut-outs had to extend into the wagon house of Howell, which was also the location of the props tables and the show’s band, as well as the actor holding area. Finally, the stage crew needed a location
to store the cut-outs when they were not in use, and had to be able to relocate to the other side of the stage for some moves. Ultimately, the challenge of the technical rehearsals for Mother Courage came down to finding enough space to achieve the things that needed to happen. This challenge was not unanticipated, however. In fact, many of these problems had become apparent during the transitions meeting on 5 September, but the scenery, actors, and crew congregate in the same space, it can often be difficult to see the full scope of the problem and its factors. The result, however, was a stagnate first technical rehearsal. Many of the stage crew were inexperienced lab students, who required additional training and supervision. With that in mind, I asked Spilinek to spend the entirety of the first two days of tech backstage with the crew, helping guide them and get them into a routine that would decrease the time for each transition and increase
efficiency. I spent my time in the house watching those transitions to ensure they
accorded with the designer’s intention, and watching the transitions of the actors and the lighting cues to determine how they affected the scenic movements. While we were able to cut a considerable amount of time from the transitions, there were a few that simply dragged on beyond our ability to control them, across all facets of the production. For this reason, we decided to cut the entirety of the first scene in the second act, and that 4 November would be dedicated to working on transitions. While the stage crew worked that day on the transitions, I timed them from the house, taking note of the length of each transition compared with the desired length of the director and designer. Having
identified the most problematic transitions, I approached the designer with the recommendation that some of the cut-out pieces be eliminated or moved to different sections of the track that made transitions easier to execute, presenting to her the current
length of those transitions and my estimates for their lengths after the recommended changes. Given our inability to reduce the length of those transitions by other means, she reluctantly agreed. The changes worked, however, and we were not only able to reduce the time for each transition, but we were able to invest needed confidence in the stage crew for what they were doing, and their efficiency improved as a result.
Given the number of actors on stage and the movement of the wagon, it became apparent that the hill required constant repair and maintenance. Having only a thin papier-mâché skin, the slightest bump or accidental step onto the hill would tear the surface. I spoke with the scenic charge about the problem, and we developed a plan for repairing the hill before each performance with enough time for the patches to dry. A bucket containing a mixture of Jaxsan, paint, and joint compound remained in the paint shop for these repairs.
The wagon performed well during technical rehearsals, with generally minor repairs needed throughout the process. One particular incident, however, perfectly
summarizes the ability of actors to find defects in scenery that need to be addressed. In an attempt to make parts of the wagon as authentic as possible, the wheels were held in position on the axles with a linchpin made by bending a ¼” bolt over and cutting the head off. That pin was then dropped through a hole cut in the metal axle and the wheel was secure. To my complete surprise, throughout the course of a technical rehearsal, the actors somehow managed to work a linchpin loose, and it fell out. No mention about it ever surfaced, and luckily the wheel remained on the axle. It was by pure coincidence I found the pin on the stage following the rehearsal, thankful that we avoided a situation that could have been much worse. By that point in the process, I was confident enough
that the wheels would not need removal again and I asked d’Egnuff to tack them on with the welder. In the event of an emergency, the tack could be broken to remove the wheels, but importantly the pins could not be accidentally removed during a show again.
The technical rehearsal process for Mother Courage was not the easiest I have ever experienced, and it required a great deal of sacrifice and hard work from the stage crew and the production staff. Yet following three successful preview performances, the show opened 9 November as scheduled.
Chapter 5: Performances
Mother Courage and Her Children officially opened to the public on 9 November, 2018. Following eight performances, it closed on 18 November, 2018. Throughout the run, numerous patches and repairs kept the papier-mâché skin of the hill intact, and it suffered no major structural damage. The wagon required some attention throughout the run, mainly due to squeaking caused by the paint on the wheels rubbing off through use. We applied silicone spray to reduce the friction of the wheel rotating on the linchpin and axle housing, and the problem was solved. This process needed
repetition every other day. I asked Spilinek to perform a visual inspection of the undercarriage of the wagon on a daily basis, to ensure any structural failures were
identified as quickly as possible. No cracks or other failures appeared throughout the run. I performed daily inspections of the farmhouse roof to check for cracking or deformation, due to the presence of an actor on the roof during performances. No defects appeared there either, during the course of the run.
Of particular note, stage manager Shannon Humiston made mention in a performance report of the flying scenic units swinging in the air when in their out
positions. She also mentioned that the parsonage was swinging so much, that when it was flown in it sat tilted, having been moved far enough away from its intended position. I tested the fly system the following day, but observed no swinging of the lines. The note again appeared in a performance report, so I asked Humiston and the assistant stage managers to meet with me the following day in an attempt to recreate the swinging they observed. Again, we were unable to do so. I came to the conclusion that the swinging of
the scenery was the result of multiple factors. Air flow between Howell, the studio theater, and the scene shop has long been a challenge in the Temple Building. The vents located in the Howell grid can sometimes create a vortex of air between the three spaces, but I could not determine why this occurred only at night during performances. I also observed that one of the masking legs used next to the stage left entrance was in a position to be hit by actors throughout the show while entering and exiting. By shaking the curtain I was able to get the other line sets around it to move, due to the vibrations of the grid. While this movement was minor, I theorized that it could be compounding throughout the run of a show, resulting in more swinging by the conclusion of a
performance. I asked the stage management crew to keep including the swinging in their reports and to inform me if it became worse, or they observed something we had missed in our tests, but the problem seemed to diminish and no further action was necessary.
Chapter 6: Strike
The strike for Mother Courage was scheduled for 18 November, immediately following the final performance. Prior to that date, a meeting was scheduled for 15 November to discuss the process we would undertake, given the nature of this particular production. During load-in, I had suggested to the lighting department that we hang all flying scenery before light hang to avoid damaging lighting instruments should we install them afterward. It occurred to me before the 15 November meeting that a similar process might be necessary for strike. Traditionally in the JCSTF, all scenic elements of a
production are removed from the stage before the lights are flown in, at which point electrics takes the lead of strike. Considering that the flying units needed to be laid flat when they were flown in for removal, my concern was that the line sets might be pulled too far downstage, potentially damaging the lighting instruments hanging nearby. I expressed this concern at the 15 November meeting, along with the suggestion that we instead remove the items from the line sets one by one, essentially alternating between scenery and lighting instruments. In that way, each scenic line set could be pulled slightly downstage to remove the items without the fear of hitting lighting instruments, which would have already been removed. The group agreed to my plan, and I began preparing a strike assignment list, dividing the design and technology students of the JCSTF between the various production departments.
Strike began at approximately 5:00 p.m. on 18 November with a crew of forty-two design and technology students and a handful of cast members and run crew members. We began by detaching and flying out the cyc and scrim, then removing the
scenic elements from the stage floor, including the hill, carpet, farmhouse, and wagon. The scenic and electrics crews then combined efforts to clear the line sets, beginning with the portal on the downstage-most line set and working our way up stage. The process, while slow at times, allowed us successfully to clear the line sets without incident. Once the other production departments were clear, the stage was cleaned and the space reset. Strike concluded at approximately 9:00 p.m., a four hour strike being about average for the department.
Most of the scenic elements of the show were discarded, using a dumpster which shop supervisor Nate Rose procured in the days leading up to strike. The portal, since it boasted a neutral design and color, was kept for future use. The cyc was kept on its line set to avoid folding it and creating more wrinkles in its surface. In the days following strike, I worked with the other carpenters in the scene shop to reset the soft goods in the space to their neutral positions.
Chapter 7: Budget
Following the approval to transfer $300.00 from props to scenery, the working scenic budget for Mother Courage and Her Children was $4,800.00. Included in that total was a paint budget of $450.00, as well as a contingency budget of $480.00. The initial estimate for production expenses was $5,095.67. Due to adjustment in materials, and discounts I procured when purchasing the carpet and muslin for the show, I got our final expenses down to $4,533.79. While this amount resulted in the scenic department completing the production under budget, it was only possible thanks to the money
transferred from the props department. To achieve that final expense, I monitored receipts for the production on a daily basis. While items such as fasteners and adhesives generally come from the scene shop overhead budget, we used some of those items in
non-traditional ways, such as using glue to stiffen the muslin on the tree units. That material was therefore factored into the budget, along with a number of unanticipated purchases.
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Although attributed to many individuals in one form or another, there is an adage I learned at an early age and have carried with me ever since. My favorite version of it comes from the Scottish author Samuel Smiles: “We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.” The process of engineering and creating the scenery for Mother Courage and Her Children was fraught with small failures, each of them a learning experience. So too was it full of resounding successes, some of them even unanticipated.
In the pursuit of reducing the cost of the hill and the tree units, I decided to use a wooden frame with poultry netting and papier-mâché over the top of it after having used the technique a few months prior on another production. While the technique worked relatively well on the trees, following the addition of muslin to the surface to prevent cracking, I found myself believing another method should have been used on the hill in retrospect. The difference between the hill in Mother Courage, and my use of the same technique on a large rock months prior, which I did not consider, was two-fold: the hill, unlike the rock, remained on stage for the entire performance; and unlike the rock, the hill required actors constantly to move both on and around it. The result was a situation in which the hill needed constant repair and maintenance. I believe if I had engineered the hill, or even just certain parts of the hill, using carved foam, I could have reduced the instances of damage to it. The lesson I learned was the importance of evaluating the circumstances of each method and construction choice. What is right for one situation
may not be right for the next, and budget cannot be the only determining factor. The undercarriage of the wagon was another element which I considered a failure, though perhaps not in the traditional sense. The wagon itself fulfilled every necessary
requirement: it met with the approval of the designer and the director, it was capable of making the various movements needed, it had the weight capacity necessary to hold the multitude of actors and props associated with it, and it required no major repairs. However, there is an artistic quality to what we build in the scene shop and the
undercarriage of the wagon failed to meet the standards I would have preferred. Davis had left the functional design of the wagon’s undercarriage to me, and while completely functional it did not resemble any historical examples I could find of period wagons. Had the undercarriage not been visible, this would not have concerned me, but the wheels, axles, and tongue of a wagon are integral to its shape and look. That shape is quite familiar to many people, so I would have preferred to produce something which more closely aligned with that preconceived idea of what a wagon should look like. I believe this was possible, but it would have required additional research and materials,
specifically steel. Steel, however, would have greatly affected the budget, and therefore it may not have been feasible. Labor management was the final major point of failure for me in this process. Coming from a background of small scale, community style theatre, I am used to generally working alone. Throughout my time at the University of Nebraska, I have tried to improve my management of other people, to serve me not only in future theatrical endeavors, but also potentially in education as well. There were times during this process where I simply became overwhelmed, and I had to rely on the other technical direction graduate students to help me manage labor in the scene shop. This responsibility
should fall squarely with the technical director, and through my failure to do so I gained insight into how I might improve in this area.
As mentioned above, the undercarriage of the wagon was something I would like to have done differently, but overall the wagon can only be considered a success. Having never constructed anything like it, especially given its importance to the production, and then to have it be completely functional and without need of repairs, I am extremely proud of how it turned out. Early in the process, I had many doubts concerning the weight requirements of the wagon and the materials we used to construct it. I was surprised and relieved to find those doubt completely unfounded. I was very proud of how the
farmhouse turned out as well. By far the most difficult component of the show to engineer and draft, the farmhouse included complex math and angles to achieve the proper shape and roof slope. The need to support an actor on the roof made getting the farmhouse just right, especially given its relatively small size, of the utmost importance. Combined with the hard work of the scene shop to achieve the desired look of the faux log facing, the farmhouse was one of the most successful aspects of the show.
Mother Courage was a fantastic show to serve as my graduate thesis project. Combining elements of rigging, moving scenery, and both standard and non-standard construction techniques, it was an excellent culmination of the time I spent with the university. The show presented many challenges to me, some for the first time, but with the support of the production staff, the other graduate students, and my advisor, Mitchell Critel, we were able to overcome those obstacles and produce a successful show. If the ultimate goal of the scene shop is to take the designer’s vision and make it reality, then perhaps the best metric for success is their opinion of the finished product. Brenda Davis
was wonderful throughout the process of building this show, always willing to hear my concerns and suggestions, and always ready to offer solutions of her own. That
collaborative nature made it a joy to produce scenery for her, and her approval at the end of the process was just about all we could hope for.
Learning should always be a lifelong endeavor. This one production did not teach me everything I need to know about technical direction, nor did my three years at the University of Nebraska. It would foolish to expect that it should have. What this production, and my time here has done is set the groundwork for a lifetime of learning, growing, and improving. I am thankful for the opportunity, and to the faculty, staff, and students of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.
Designer’s Original Ground Plan
Digitized Ground Plan
Designer’s Original Section
Designer’s Original Deck Elevation
Designer’s Original Portal
Designer’s Original Flying Units
Designer’s Original Wagon
Designer’s Model – Stage Floor and Hill
Designer’s Model Scene 2
Designer’s Model – Scene 6
Designer’s Model – Scene 10
Appendix D: Construction Photographs
Downstage Hill Section – Framing
Downstage Hill Section – Papier-mâché Covering
Downstage Hill Section – Texturing
Hill Edges – Tracks for Cut-outs
Trees – Framing
Trees – Papier-mâché Covering
Trees – Jaxsan Texturing
Portal – Framing
Parsonage – Homasote Carving
Parsonage – Completed Grate
Farmhouse – Framing Side View and Platform
Farmhouse – Framing Front View and Platform
Farmhouse – Log Siding Texture
Tent – Framing and Rigging
Flooring – Carpet Texture Detail
Wagon – CNC Fabrication of Wheels and Chassis Pieces
Wagon – Wheel and Wheel Cap Sanding
Wagon – First Test Fit of Wagon Body and Chassis
Wagon – Chassis Assembly with Tongue and Mounting Guides
Wagon – Rear Folding Step Assembly
Wagon – Paint and Texture
Completed Wagon – Right Side Dressing
Completed Wagon – Front View with Tongue in Down Position
Appendix E: Production Photographs
Mother Courage – Wagon, Portal, Flooring
Mother Courage – Wagon, Portal, Trees, Bridge Cut-out
Mother Courage – Hills, House Cut-out
Mother Courage – Wagon, Portal
Mother Courage – Tent, Small Tents Cut-out
Mother Courage – Wagon, Trees, Bridge Cut-out
